Designing the professional development of staff for teaching online: an OU (UK) case study     

Janet Macdonald  Barbara Poniatowska 《Distance Education》2011,32(1):119-134

We maintain that an understanding of the working contexts of staff is a critical consideration when designing for effective professional development. The process of embedding theory into good practice does not simply depend on the design of a good seminar, because it may also be affected by who else attends, or perhaps by who the participants talk to subsequently. This article presents a case study of the development of an online module at the Open University in the UK that was designed to help staff in understanding how to use online tools for supporting students. The article describes the institutional context in order to demonstrate how we have brought innovations in learning and teaching practice to the attention of our practitioners, using social learning techniques, within their normal working environment. We go on to describe module design and participant perceptions of its effectiveness.  相似文献   

Teacher-as-knowledge-broker in a futures-oriented health and physical education     

Doune Macdonald 《Sport, Education and Society》2015,20(1):27-41

The concept of brokering is usually aligned with a business model of an intermediary helping the customer/client with their decisions/choices. As knowledge becomes increasingly accessible, and of varied origins, quality and veracity, the number of professionals engaged in knowledge brokering is simultaneously increasing. This paper considers if teachers should also regard themselves and become skilled as knowledge brokers. Set in the context of proliferating websites, blogs, products and services available for access/purchase by health and physical education (HPE) teachers and their students, questions about what is knowledge, where it is generated and how it is filtered and evaluated are raised as a prelude to suggesting that it may be time for HPE teachers to act as effective knowledge brokers consistent with the pressures and practices of neoliberalism.  相似文献   

Three-dimensional printed millifluidic devices for zebrafish embryo tests     

Feng Zhu  Joanna Skommer  Niall P. Macdonald  Timo Friedrich  Jan Kaslin  Donald Wlodkowic 《Biomicrofluidics》2015,9(4)

Implementations of Lab-on-a-Chip technologies for in-situ analysis of small model organisms and embryos (both invertebrate and vertebrate) are attracting an increasing interest. A significant hurdle to widespread applications of microfluidic and millifluidic devices for in-situ analysis of small model organisms is the access to expensive clean room facilities and complex microfabrication technologies. Furthermore, these resources require significant investments and engineering know-how. For example, poly(dimethylsiloxane) soft lithography is still largely unattainable to the gross majority of biomedical laboratories willing to pursue development of chip-based platforms. They often turn instead to readily available but inferior classical solutions. We refer to this phenomenon as workshop-to-bench gap of bioengineering science. To tackle the above issues, we examined the capabilities of commercially available Multi-Jet Modelling (MJM) and Stereolithography (SLA) systems for low volume fabrication of optical-grade millifluidic devices designed for culture and biotests performed on millimetre-sized specimens such as zebrafish embryos. The selected 3D printing technologies spanned a range from affordable personal desktop systems to high-end professional printers. The main motivation of our work was to pave the way for off-the-shelf and user-friendly 3D printing methods in order to rapidly and inexpensively build optical-grade millifluidic devices for customized studies on small model organisms. Compared with other rapid prototyping technologies such as soft lithography and infrared laser micromachining in poly(methyl methacrylate), we demonstrate that selected SLA technologies can achieve user-friendly and rapid production of prototypes, superior feature reproduction quality, and comparable levels of optical transparency. A caution need to be, however, exercised as majority of tested SLA and MJM resins were found toxic and caused significant developmental abnormalities in zebrafish embryos. Taken together, our data demonstrate that SLA technologies can be used for rapid and accurate production of devices for biomedical research. However, polymer biotoxicity needs to be carefully evaluated.  相似文献   

An evaluation of evaluation     

James B. Macdonald 《The Urban Review》1974,7(1):3-14

Conclusion The present evaluation procedures are useful if looked at as secondary data; if they are seen as broad and essentially complementary to the main business of schooling — student learning, and not as the primary outcome of schooling.When they are seen as direct or primary representations of the quality of programs, they are fraudulent and misleading. Moreover, they are dangerous to the humanistic image of man and our evolving understanding of the learning process.It is the heightening of this danger, currently being fostered by federal grant programs, accountability movements, industrial focus, and the national testing program, that makes it crucial to take a stand, now.We who are engaged in schooling activity are being made over by the pressures of our contemporary milieu. As I see it at present, the evaluation signs of the times can only lead, in the long run, to a process whereby we shall become middlemen technicians in schools that perform a service-training function.Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina (Greensboro).  相似文献   

A cross-cultural investigation of the use of teaching styles     

Cothran DJ  Hodges Kulinna P  Banville D  Choi E  Amade-Escot C  MacPhail A  Macdonald D  Richard JF  Sarmento P  Kirk D 《Research quarterly for exercise and sport》2005,76(2):193-201

Teacher beliefs are a major influence on teacher actions. Because context influences beliefs, it was the purpose of this study to explore teachers' beliefs about Mosston's Spectrum of Teaching Styles from an international perspective. Over 1,400 teachers from 7 countries completed a survey related to their self-reported use of and beliefs about various teaching styles. Data suggested a shared core of reproduction teaching style use. The use of and beliefs about the production styles of teaching were more varied. Teachers' use of styles was significantly related to their beliefs about the styles.  相似文献   

Developing competent e‐learners: the role of assessment     

Janet Macdonald 《Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education》2004,29(2):215-226

We know assessment plays a major formative role in driving student learning appropriately, but what implications does this have for online courses? Is it more important than in a face to face context, or less so? Should we reconceptualize the ways in which we assess students, or are existing methods, tried and tested in conventional teaching and learning situations, appropriate? This paper discusses the practical implications of implementing these online pedagogies and illustrates the powerful formative effects, both intended and unintentional, of assessment on student learning and behaviour. It draws on examples from recent research on two e‐learning courses at UK Open University.  相似文献   

Under the Los Angeles Sun: The History and Design of Shelters Used to Protect the Mural América Tropical by David Alfaro Siqueiros     

Leslie Rainer  Susan Macdonald 《文物保护研究》2018,63(5):414-417

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The disjunction between lecturers' conceptions of teaching and their claimed educational practice   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Kate Murray  Ranald Macdonald 《Higher Education》1997,33(3):331-349

This article reports a survey of current teaching practice and lecturers perceptions of their role within a Business School. These findings have been placed in a theoretical framework. Analysis of the qualitative aspects of the survey showed some interesting variations in conceptions of the role of a lecturer, the purpose of lectures, tutorials and assessment. The results also showed inconsistencies which are explored. The main conceptions of teaching held by respondents describe the role of the lecturer as either imparting knowledge; providing student support; enthusing and motivating students; facilitating student learning; or some combination of these conceptions. A substantial majority of respondents saw themselves as either facilitators or student supporters. However, the predominant use of lectures and tutorials, with the purpose of disseminating information and applying or checking knowledge and understanding, conflicts with the majority view of the role of the lecturer. This disjunction between stated aims and claimed educational practice has been described as one of the mysteries of higher education. Lecturers express attitudes and beliefs about teaching which are not translated into their teaching strategies and methods. Possible explanations for this disjunction are explored.  相似文献   

Refining Assessment for Resource Based Learning     

Janet Macdonald  Robin Mason  Nick Heap 《Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education》1999,24(3):345-353

Technology has introduced a new dimension into resource based learning, with the opportunities for flexibility in time and place offered by delivery of course material either through CD‐ROM or the World Wide Web (WWW), and the potential for access to a wide variety of diverse information sources. Many projects are currently experimenting with courses using these delivery media. This paper describes part of an action research project in which a study of student perspectives on assessment for a resource based UK Open University course highlights those aspects of assessment which appear to support student learning effectively. The feedback has been used to refine three of the assignments, as a way of fine tuning the course pedagogy.  相似文献   

Teacher attrition: a review of literature   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Doune Macdonald   《Teaching and Teacher Education》1999,15(8):1029

Teacher attrition is generally positioned within research addressing teacher shortage, the wastage of resources and expertise, as well as that concerning teachers’ lowly status and poor working conditions. As such the research is fragmented and diverse. This paper attempts to draw together contemporary international attrition research in order to consider: how teacher attrition may be defined; patterns of attrition; influences upon attrition; the impact of attrition; and strategies employed for decreasing attrition. It concludes that research concerning teacher attrition requires the development of more comprehensive databases on teaching personnel and increased clarity of how attrition is being framed and investigated.  相似文献